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A DISCOURSE 



O N 



THE CHARACTER, PUBLIC SERVICES, AND DEATH, 

OF 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

> 

BY JOSHUA BATES. 



A DISCOURSE 



O N 



THE CHARACTER, PUBLIC SERVICES, AND DEATH, 



OF 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



BY JOSHUA BATES. 



WORCESTER: 

PRINTED BY SAMUEL CHISM. 
218 Main Street, 












*o 



DISCOURSE. 



Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel. 2 Samuel iii. 38. 

" Know ye not that there is a great man fallen?" This inquiry, 
or rather announcement, made in Judea, three thousand years ago, 
might, with great propriety, have been made in our country, when 
recently John Quincy Adams, under the sudden stroke of disease, 
sunk down in his seat in the Congress, and soon after died, still 
within the walls of the Capitol of the United States.* Indeed, 
the announcement was made, in language scarcely less forcible 
and impressive, not only at Washington, but through the whole 
land ; was made and sent abroad with lightning speed, with tele- 
graphic dispatch. And every where, as the tidings spread, the in- 
volved sentiment seems to have met a ready response, and been 
echoed back, in soft and solemn tones, — " A great man is fallen." 

Nor should we, my hearers, though far removed from the excit- 
ing scene of his death, and dwelling in a retired village, suffer the 
announcement of the solemn fact to pass by us, or the recollection 
of it to escape from our minds, without some special notice of the 
event itself, and some practical application of the instructions 



* The death of Mr. Adams was, indeed, sudden ; and the circumstances attending it pecu- 
liarly impressive. He had through life enjoyed almost uninterrupted health. And by his at- 
tention to diet and regimen, early rising, regularity of exercise, careful appropriation of time, 
and complete system in the regulation of his business and various pursuits, he had been able 
to accomplish more labor than most men could endure ; and to accomplish it with apparent 
ease and satisfaction. A little more than a year before his death, he had a slight stroke of the 
palsy, which he viewed as the premonitory stroke of death, designed to bring his earthly labors 
to a close ; and, we are told, he made a corresponding entry in his daily record of himself. 
Still, as his energies of mind remained unimpaired, and as his bodily strength and activity soon 
returned, he was induced to resume his public duties, and take his seat in Congress. And 
though he never recovered his full strength, he continued to discharge his public duties with 
his wonted faithfulness and punctuality ; till, on Monday the 21st of February, 1848, as he sat 
in his seat in Congress, the same disease returned ; and on Wednesday the 23d, closed his 
eventful life, at the ripe age of more than four-score years. 



4 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

which it brings along with it. I repeat the language of the text 
to-day,* therefore, not for the purpose of comparing the event, to 
which I apply it, with that to which it was originally applied by 
David, the king and sweet Psalmist of Israel; nor for the purpose 
of tracing analogies and running a parallel between the great man 
of old, whose death David announced to the children of Israel, and 
him, whose death, at Washington, has been recently announced 
to us. I adopt the language of the text, merely as a suitable and 
striking introduction to a discourse, on the character, public ser- 
vices, and death of this great man of Massachusetts, of New Eng- 
land, of the United States of America, of the world ; who has thus 
fallen, full of years and crowned Avith honors. Accordingly, I 
shall endeavor to delineate a few of the most prominent features 
of his character, and speak of some of the most striking occur- 
rences and actions of his life, which conspired to constitute him 
" a great man." And I intend to intersperse the whole with such 
reflections and practical remarks, as seem adapted to the condition 
and claims of our country; and as are calculated to remind us of 
our obligations, and prompt us to the faithful discharge of duty, as 
members of civil society and citizens of a great republic. 

With this view I must detain you a little while, with the defini- 
tion of terms ; and occupy a few moments in showing what are 
the elements of greatness in human character — what constitutes a 
great man. 

Clearly all that is sometimes called great, is not truly great. 
Greatness in man, evidently does not depend on position in society, 
on place and power, on office and rank, on pedigree and primo- 
geniture ; on the ten thousand nominal and factitious distinctions 
which have been arbitrarily made in society. For the most ele^. 
vated rank and the most honorable titles are often assumed by men 
of the lowest minds and vilest character; and not unfrequently the 
highest civil offices are conferred on the weak and the wicked. In 
hereditary governments, the chances are, at least, equal, that this 
will be the fact; whenever an heir-apparent ascends the throne ; 
because he ascends, of course, without regard to character or qual- 
ifications. And even in elective states, want of judgment in the 



* Delivered at Dudley, Mass., April 6th, 1848, being the day of the Annual Fast in this Com- 
monweal tli. 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 5 



electors, deception practised by selfish aspirants, and the blinding- 
influence of party spirit, too often produce the same results. Thus 
the high places in civil society are sometimes filled by men of little 
minds, and destitute of all moral and religious principles. And 
the ultimate consequence is, that the wicked walk on every side, 
when the vilest men are thus exalted. Then vice and iniquity 
every where abound, drawing down upon the country the judg- 
ments of Heaven. 

Nor will the possession and developement of some one high 
quality alone, make a great man. A man may be a great mathe- 
matician or a great poet, a great general or a great politician, and 
yet be destitute of that, which is absolutely necessary to consti- 
tute a great man. Yes, even the best moral qualities may be seen 
in connection with much intellectual deficiency ; such weakness 
of judgment, wildness of imagination, or instability of purpose in 
a man, as to forbid the application of the epithet great to him as 
a man ; however, charity may wink at his errors, smile at his 
foibles, pity his misfortune, and yet praise him for his good inten- 
tions. 

But we may remark positively, that great intellectual faculties 
and high moral powers, fully developed, properly directed, and ac- 
tively employed, are all requisite to make a truly great man. Or, 
to express the same thing in different language, we may say, a 
great man must possess, at once, symmetry and elevation of char- 
acter. His original powers of mind and susceptibilities of heart 
must be of a high order, cultivated with care, drawn out and kept 
in such just proportion and steady equilibrium, as to produce a 
finished character — firm and elevated, beautiful and sublime. Or 
better still, perhaps, we may say : a great man must show his 
greatness, by standing on high ground, where his light may shine 
and he may be seen ; and by there exhibiting those excellencies 
which are involved in a faithful and diligent discharge of the du- 
ties, growing out of all the relations of life and immortality. 

He must, therefore, be a man of firmness of purpose and decision 
of character ; of self-possession, self-culture, and self-control ; and 
all these qualities he must possess in such measure, as not only to 
secure his own happiness, but to be able, most effectually, to pro- 
mote the happiness of others— of all others, who are dependent on 
him and connected with him. He must be prepared to discharge 



6 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

faithfully and successfully all the duties which his social and civil 
relations impose upon him ; prepared for the service of his country 
and generation ; prepared, especially, for the service of his God 
and the enjoyment of his favor forever. 

Hence, though there may be degrees of greatness in character, 
and, of course, different classes of great men, yet the number of 
those who are truly eminent, and are entitled to the high distinc- 
tion denoted by the epithet, is, in every age and country, compar- 
atively small. For, as we have said, no one can be truly great, 
without possessing great original powers of mind ; nor unless these 
great powers are fully developed, carefully cultivated, properly di- 
rected, and faithfully employed. 

These cultivated and well-directed powers, I repeat, may exist 
in different degrees and various proportions, in different men; but 
in whatever degree or proportion they are possessed by any one, 
and in whatever relation or office he may be placed, if truly a 
great man, he will be found always prepared to meet the calls of 
duty with promptitude and decision, and to pursue the path of 
duty with untiring assiduity and never-yielding perseverance. 

Especially, let it be remembered, the religious element is indis- 
pensable to constitute greatness of character in man. All other 
powers and qualities, however exalted and apportioned, will fail to 
produce true greatness, without the combining and controlling in- 
fluence of this high quality. To render them subservient to the 
purpose for which they were bestowed, or even to secure their sal- 
utary tendency, they must be sanctified by religious sentiment, 
and exercised and employed under the direction of religious prin- 
ciple. 

This element of greatness in character, has, indeed, been gener- 
ally overlooked or forgotten. Hence, talents of the most brilliant 
order have been wasted ; genius permitted to run wild, and scatter 
abroad the seeds of death ; and knowledge, though extensive and 
powerful, suffered to lie dormant, or become merely the power of 
producing mischief and misery in the world. Hence the great 
general (so-called) has sometimes become a cruel murderer, de- 
stroying without mercy and almost without thought, the innocent 
and defenceless. Hence the great poet (so-called) has sometimes 
become a trifler, a madman, a corrupter of youth, diffusing every 
where a moral pestilence — error, vice, and wretchedness. Hence, 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 7 

too, the great statesman and politician (so-called) has sometimes 
become a selfish demagogue, a fraudulent diplomatist, a cunning 
aspirant for power, and a cruel oppressor when in power. Thus 
greatness (so-called — falsely so-called) sinks into littleness, into 
meanness even, when separated from goodness. Yes ; all talents, 
however brilliant; all knowledge, however extensive; all devel- 
opemeiits of mental power, however mighty ; all acquisitions of 
science and learning, however comprehensive ; all natural sympa- 
thy and even moral sensibility, however exquisite ; unsanctified by 
religious truth and uncontrolled by religious principle, will forever 
fail to produce true greatness of character, or render any one truly 
a great man. They need one essential ingredient to form the com- 
pound. They want the combining and conservative element, the 
purifying and controlling power ; that, which alone can give con- 
sistency, permanency and excellence ; unity, beauty and sublim- 
ity, to human character; or render a man of great powers and 
acquisitions, truly a great man. 

Yet, few as men of greatness of character are — here and there 
one in an age, like light-houses scattered along the sea coast, to 
guide the bewildered mariner — our country has produced her full 
proportion ; and John Quincy Adams was decidedly one of the 
number. Yes; he possessed all the elements of greatness, and 
most of them developed in a high degree, harmoniously combined, 
well balanced, and steadily employed, under the direction of en- 
lightened conscience and fixed religious principle. 

His native powers of mind seem to have been of a high order. 
It may, perhaps, be thought by some, that his great attainments 
in literature and science, depended more upon his superior advan- 
tages for improvement, than on native vigor of intellect. It must, 
indeed, be admitted, that his advantages were uncommonly great, 
and eminently calculated to develope his original powers of mind, 
and urge them forward to maturity. Born at a most interesting 
period in the history of the country,* just as she was entering into 
her mighty struggle for independence, of parents deeply involved 
in the counsels and measures which led to that struggle and car- 
ried it through with success ; rocked in the cradle of liberty and 
science, and nursed in the arms of piety and patriotism, his first 
impressions and earliest developements were unquestionably favor- 



July 11, 1767, 



8 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

able to energy of character, enterprise of spirit, and that greatness 
to which he ultimately rose. Especially was the influence of his 
excellent mother manifest in giving direction to his high pursuits 
and forming his elevated character, both intellectual and moral. 
Under her superintendence his literary career, as well as his moral 
and religious training, was commenced.* And, even when with- 
drawn from her personal influence, by his residence with his fath- 
er and others in Europe, he failed not to receive her high counsels 
through the medium of those excellent letters which are already 
before the public. 

At the age of eleven years, he began to study foreign languages, 
both ancient and modern, in a foreign country; and, before he had 
reached the age of twenty, he had completed a course of liberal 
education, having pursued his studies at two universities,! besides 
receiving the best tuition at home and abroad ; and, at the same 
time, enjoying the advantages of travel and extended observation, 
in daily communion with some of the greatest minds and ripest 
scholars of the age. 

But, while all this is admitted, it must be seen in the result, that 
the mind which could appreciate these advantages, meet their high 
claims on his energy and diligence, improve them all without dis- 
traction or weariness, and grow to maturity under their pressure 
and multiplied appliances, must have been a great mind ; must 
have possessed happy tendencies and strong capabilities. I am 
not, however, anxious to settle this metaphysical question, and 
balance the weight of evidence between the claims of original tal- 
ents and a judicious, energetic, and persevering improvement of 
facilities and favorable opportunities. It is enough for our pur- 
pose, that we are able to affirm and prove, that he possessed great 
powers of intellect, fully developed and completely disciplined; a 
mind of enlarged capacity, and well furnished with the richest 
stores of learning. 

His opportunities for observation,, and the various circumstances 
«;f his early life, were surely favorable for the acquisition of know- 
ledge. But still, his perceptive faculties must have been acute, 
and his powers of attention and abstraction must have been great, 



• It is stated by an intimate friend, that he continued, through life, to repeat, in connexion 
with his evening devotions, a simple prayer, taught him by his mother. 

I cyden and < Cambridge. 



JOHN QULNCY ADAMS. 



or these opportunities and favoring circumstances would have avail- 
ed him little ; certainly would not have made him the ripe and 
universal scholar that he was. Similar advantages have been en- 
joyed and abused by thousands. Thousands, like him, have trav- 
elled in foreign lands, conversed with great minds and learned 
men, and received instruction in the best schools, who, neverthe- 
less, wanted the capacity or energy of mind requisite for scholar- 
ship ; for high attainments in literature and science; — not un fre- 
quently have they come out from the university " graduated 
dunces," or returned from abroad, " travelled fools." He had 
the opportunities for improvement, it is true; and he improved 
them ; because he possessed the capacity to receive and retain, and 
the energy to pursue and acquire knowledge. 

We may, at least, affirm, without the fear of contradiction, that 
his memory was extraordinary, perhaps unequalled. I discover, 
however, nothing in his course of education peculiarly calculated 
to form such a memory: nothing but what is common to the dis- 
cipline of a liberal education, with a steady exercise of the faculty, 
and a practical application of the knowledge acquired. I know 
not, that he adopted any rules of arbitrary association, in order to 
strengthen his powers of retention and recollection ; that he took 
any special pains to commit to memory, for the purpose of exercise 
and discipline ; or that he reviewed what he read more frequently 
than other sound and finished scholars. I see nothing, indeed, 
connected with his mental habits, peculiarly favorable to the im- 
provement and enlargement of this intellectual faculty, except his 
early and continued practice of committing to writing, every day, 
the most important occurrences of the day, with his own views 
and reflections. But this practice can scarcely be said to be pecu- 
liar to him. Others have done the same thing; and some, per- 
haps, with equal care and particularity. And yet his memory was 
certainly extraordinary ; perhaps unparalelled, both as to its ex- 
tent, retention, and readiness. He seems to have taken notice of 
whatever occurred within the sphere of his observation ; to have 
read whatever came to his hand, worthy of being read ; and to 
have retained, and kept in a state of readiness for use, whatever of 
knowledge he had acquired, both by reading and observation. 

It has been said, that readiness and retentiveness of memory are 
qualities inconsistent with each other, and not to be found in the 

2 



10 ">HN QUINCY ADAMS- 

same person; because they depend on antagonistic habits of asso- 
ciation — the one belonging to the philosophic mind, and the other 
to the practical man of business. But in him we have an example 
of their perfect consistency and complete union. His memory was 
both philosophical and particular ; both a retentive and a ready 
memory. AVhat he had once learned, as we said, lie seems to 
have retained always; and what he thus knew, he had always at 
command, and ready for immediate and appropriate use. 

The consequence of his great powers of memory, happily direct- 
ed by the course of his education, and faithfully applied by his 
great industry and persevering energy of research, was, as already 
intimated, the acquisition of extensive and various knowledge — 
knowledge laid by in store, and yet held ready for use, whenever 
occasion called. 

He was more or less acquainted with many of the modern lan- 
guages of Europe ; and several of them he could speak and write 
with readiness and accuracy.* In the classical languages of 
Greece and Rome, and especially the latter, he read much, and he 
was thoroughly acquainted with the literature which they embod- 
ied. He was, too, a man of science; wonderfully catching the 
spirit of the times, and keeping along with the rapid progress, both, 
of the abstract and the natural sciences. But his knowledge of 
history, natural law, political economy, and the science of legisla- 
tion and civil government, constituted his chief attainments, and 
furnished the mighty resources and high qualifications which he 
possessed for complicated action in public life, and the various ser- 
vices of his country to which he was called. f 

His unrivalled power in debate, depended more on his inexhaust-- 
ible fund of knowledge and ready memory, than on any distin- 
guished qualities of eloquence or peculiar graces of oratory. He 
always overthrew his antagonists on the political arena, because 
he was always clad in panoply complete-farmed cap-a-pe, with 
sword in hand, sharpened and burnished, and ready for action. 
When pursued with objections, inquiries, and rash statements, as- 
he sometimes was in Congress, and even with a spirit of bitterness 



" The French and German especially. 

t A collection of his miscellaneous publications, which, I hope, will soon be made, would 
furnish abundant proof of the accuracy of this general statement. 



JOHN QUINC'Y ADAMs. 11 

and reproach, his resources of mind never failed him; his answers 
were always ready, his replies conclusive, his retorts keen; con- 
founding his assailants with an array of facts which no man could 
gainsay, and a conclusiveness of argument which no man could 
resist. 

It has been said, that no man ever attacked him wantonly, in a 
deliberative assembly, with impunity ; that whoever presumed 
thus to assail him, might be sure of defeat — yes, if the combat was 
continued, of political death. An illustration of the truth of this 
remark occurred in Congress, a few years ago, when he was sud- 
denly attacked by a combination of talents and a conspiracy of in- 
terests and prejudices, with a view to his expulsion from the House 
of Representatives. How expertly did he resist the attack on the 
right hand and on the left, in front and in rear ; and how com- 
pletely did he put the combined forces of his assailants to flight, 
and scatter them to the four winds of heaven ! During the first 
session of the twenty-sixth Congress, I remember, that a similar, 
though not so violent attack, was made upon him, with a simi- 
lar result; and I remember, when the remark was subsequently 
made to one of the members of the House: "Why, Mr. Adams 
seems to know more than any of you," the prompt reply was: — 
"Yes; more than all of us together." 

Another trait of intellectual character in Mr. Adams, which 
ought not to be passed without notice, is imagination. This fac- 
ulty, however, was certainly not so prominent in him, as was that 
of memory. The two faculties, indeed, are never displayed, in 
very eminent degree, by the same person; because they depend on 
principles and habits of association differing from each other, and 
counteracting each other's operation. Memory depends on arbi- 
trary connexions, gross resemblances, and scientific classifications ; 
but imagination on slight analogies, shadowy visions, etherial 
views, and transcendental nights of fancy. A rich, poetical im- 
agination, therefore, is seldom found in connexion with a giant- 
memory. 

His imagination, however, was by no means deficient. Some 
of his poetical effusions have been very favorably received by the 
literary public. But if he was not eminent as a poet, he had suf- 
ficient power of imagination for the purposes of vivid conception, 
graphic description, forcible illustration : enough to constitute him 



[g IOHN Ql'INCy ADAMS. 

a sound and dignified orator ; enough to secure to him the title of 
"the old man eloquent," as well as " the eloquent young man." 
His eloquence, however, did not depend on voice, or attitude, or 
playful gesture, but on 

" Thoughts that breathe 
And words that burn," — 

on clearness of views, extent of knowledge, closeness of reasoning 
and soundness of judgment, expressed in appropriate and forcible 
language, and addressed to the understanding and the heart. 

I well remember, with what dignity and commanding eloquence 
he rose, on the 5th of December, 1839, in that tumultuous assem- 
blage of the Representatives of the people of the United States, 
who had been four days in the great hall of the Capitol, without 
a chairman and without order, trying, but trying in vain, to 
organize a House. He rose, after having waited in silence till a 
crises seemed to be at hand — he rose — I seem to see him now — he 
rose, and, with his piercing eye, his slowly waving hand, and 
shrill voice, already enfeebled by age, he soon calmed the troubled 
elements, "and stilled the tumult of the people." The result is 
known. But what the result of that party-strife would have been, 
without his influence, no one can tell. It might have issued in a 
continued disorganized convention, or a complete dissolution of the 
government. 

Mr. Adams, we may add, was a man of great decision of char- 
acter, firmness of purpose, unflinching moral courage. So promi- 
nent was this quality of his mind, that he was sometimes thought 
to be too unyielding, and even obstinate. But time has generally 
shown, that what bitter enemies and timid friends called wilfulness 
and self-sufficiency, was conscientious firmness — a determined ad- 
herance to what he viewed as right— that it was conscience and 
not self-will that held him to his purpose. Witness his long con- 
test and arduous struggle in Congress for the constitutional right 
of petition — a contest in which he sometimes stood almost alone ; 
but one in which he never yielded, nor relaxed his efforts, till he 
carried his point, and convinced both friends and foes, that he was 
right, and that he had been conscientious in contending for the 
right. 

It was this high quality of firmness and independence, of con- 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 13 

scientious adhcrance to the decisions of his own judgment, which 
caused him, as I verily believe, so often to break off his connexion 
with those who had claimed him as a partizan. He was too con- 
scientious and independent to be held in the trammels of party. 
Of course, he has been claimed, at different times, as a member of 
the several political parties, which have existed in the country, 
but he was never completely identified with any. Bred in the 
school of Federalism, he embraced and generally maintained its 
doctrines, during the administration of Washington and his father. 
But, when an occasion occurred, where he thought the policy of 
the party wrong, he acted promptly on the other side of the ques- 
tion. Believing, as he declared, that the rights of our oppressed 
seamen demanded stringent measures to bring the British govern- 
ment to regard the humane law of nations on the subject of im- 
pressment, he left the ranks of the opposition, and fell, of course, 
into the measures and the ranks of those who supported the ad- 
ministration. He might have been wrong in his judgment; at the 
time I thought him wrong ; and I am not yet convinced, that the 
unnatural war which followed the stringent measures of the Em- 
bargo of 1807, might not have been avoided, and thus much blood 
and treasure saved. But he thought otherwise —honestly thought, 
as I now believe ; and accordingly made the strong declaration, 
for which he has been often and severely censured : " Mr. Presi- 
dent," said he, addressing the presiding officer of the Senate of the 
United States — " Mr. President, I would not deliberate, I would 
act." I well remember the indignation which burst upon his head, 
from his former friends and his father's friends. Yes ; I remem- 
ber, when a grey-headed man pointedly reproached him in a pub- 
lic hall, where he could not, with propriety, vindicate his conduct; 
and I remember the meekness and firmness with which he bore 
the reproach. The rebuke was certainly untimely ; and the in- 
dignation, if, as is generally believed, he acted according to his 
judgment and conscience, was unjust. Indeed, the language 
which preceded his vote for the Embargo, upon this supposition, 
was not rash ; it was sublime ; it was nobly said : " I would not 
deliberate, I would act." 

By this course he was brought, as I said, to sympathise and act 
with what was then called the Republican party ; and with them 
he continued under Madison's and Monroe's administrations, till 



I) JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

that old division of parties sunk into obscurity, and he was brought 
into the presidential chair. But here he found many of his opin- 
ions so much at variance with the interests and prejudices of some 
with whom he was called to act, especially with regard to inter- 
nal improvements, the regulation of a tariff, the proper treatment 
of the Indians, and the still more embarrasing subject of slavery, 
that the course o£ measures, which he felt himself compelled to 
recommend, deprived him of a second election to the presidential 
chair — an election which he might have secured, if he had been 
willing to sacrifice his judgment and his conscience, or resort to 
the power of perverted patronage and political proscription. 

Finally, by this independent course he became the champion, 
and, for a time, the favorite of a new party, through whose influ- 
ence he commenced his long and laborious career in the House of 
Representatives. But. to meet their wishes and sustain their pro- 
posed measures, he could proceed no farther than he felt himself 
at liberty to go, according to his views of the provisions of the 
Constitution, and the implied contract with the States of Virginia 
and Maryland, in the cession of the District of Columbia to the ju= 
risdiction of the United States. Here again some thought him 
self-sufficient on the one hand, or too scrupulous on the other. 
But, whether right or wrong in judgment, he was honest and firm 
in purpose. Thus lias he been called to act, in the measures 
which he approved, with all panics, but he belonged exclusively 
to none. Thus did he beautifully illustrate the character of deci- 
sion, firmness, and moral courage, which constitutes a great man, 
acting as an independent republican. 

One other general characteristic of his mind, or rather of his 
heart, I am constrained to mention : his susceptibility of emotion, 
his strong passions, his ardent feelings, his acute sensibility. 
But strong as his passions were— and they were confessedly strong 
and easily excited, — they were always under the control of his 
will, and subject to the guidance of his reason. In his highest sal- 
lies of indignant eloquence and withering sarcasm ; in his most 
vehement retorts upon his antagonists in debate, he never said 
what he did not believe to be true; and seldom what he could not 
prove to be both true and just. Under the most powerful provo- 
cations and the strongest excitement, his understanding remained 
undisturbed, his conceptions clear, his inexhaustible treasures of 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS/ 15 

knowledge at command; and he never failed of vindicating the 
positions he had taken against the assailing powers of talent, and 
eloquence, and prejudice; and to the complete satisfaction of all 
enlightened, impartial observers. 

"Always?" — "Never?" did 1 say? Perhaps this language is 
too strong and sweeping. He was a man ; and it is human to err. 
He may have made mistakes ; he may have indulged unjust sus- 
picions, and thrown out unkind insinuations. Unquestionably he 
sometimes did. But was he not. always ready to explain, where 
he had been misapprehended ? to make reparation, where he had 
injured? to forgive, where forgiveness was asked? to be recon- 
ciled, where alienation had unhappily and inadvertently taken 
place ? Would time permit, 1 could state cases and relate anec- 
dotes, Avhich would furnish a favorable answer to these inquiries, 
and satisfy every candid mind. 

He was, indeed, as we have said, a man of strong feelings and 
acute sensibility ; and the wonder is, that his self-government was 
so nearly perfect as it was; that amidst all the storms of debate,, 
through which, in high party times, he was called to pass, and 
under all the violent personal attacks of deliberately-formed con- 
spiracy against him. he was able to control his feelings, so as to 
command the resources of his mighty mind and inexhaustible 
memory ; so as to throw back upon his assailants the scorching 
and withering eloquence of truth, and reason, and indignant 
rebuke. 

Yes, he was a man of feeling — of tender as well as strong feel- 
ing. Often have I seen that feeling exhibited in his changing 
countenance, and even falling tears, under the preaching of the 
gospel of Christ, in view of the melting scenes of Calvary, and un- 
der the pressing influence of the doctrines which cluster around 
the cross. Is it improper to say, (for I speak what I do know,) 
that he has been seen, as he sat in the Clerk's seat, on the Sab- 
bath, in one of the halls of Congress, with his eye turned to the 
preacher in the Speaker, s desk, melting into tears, while the doc- 
trine of justification by faith and salvation by grace was exhibited 
and vindicated against Infidel objections ; was presented, as a 
practical subject ; " a doctrine according to godliness," and applied 
to the heart and conscience? This statement I make, not as show- 
ins his religious creed, for I know not what he believed on the 



16 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

subject ; not even as proof of his being a Christian, (that proof be- 
longs to another place.) Besides, transient emotion is not the best 
evidence of religions principle. But I mention the fact, merely as 
furnishing evidence of his sensibility — his susceptibility of tender 
emotion, in view of melting scenes of compassion ; where justice 
is vindicated, while mercy is exercised ; where love is exhibited, 
while integrity and truth are preserved ; where grace is displayed, 
while righteousness is secured, and a holy moral government 
maintained; where, in a word, justice and mercy meet together, 
and righteousness and peace embrace each other. 

Would time permit, I might here speak of his character for pru- 
dence, self-respect, industry, improvement of time, punctuality in 
business, early rising, exercise and general regimen; with his sim j 
plicity of manners, of dress, of equipage, of every thing, indeed, 
becoming a true republican in a well constituted republic^ For all 
these things were intimately connected with the developement and 
efficient application of his intellectual powers, and his salutary in- 
fluence in society. 

I might, too, speak of his private virtues, domestic relations, and 
moral character generally. But my personal acquaintance with 
him was not sufficiently intimate to justify the attempt to do jus- 
tice to these topics. Besides, it seems uncalled for, and altogether 
unnecessary. For here public sentiment, I believe, universally 
concurs with private friendship, in pronouncing his unqualified 
eulogy. Here the tongue of slander is silent, and even- the breath 
of calumny suppressed. 

I might, moreover, speak more at large than I have incidentally 
done of his public services. But they were performed in public 
view, and were subjected to public inspection. They are recol- 
lected by some of my hearers ; others have been told of them by 
their fathers ; and they will soon become matters of history, and 
will unquestionably occupy some of the most brilliant and instruct- 
ive pages of the history of liberty and our country. Let it suffice, 
therefore, at this time, simply to say, — No man ever served his 
country longer,* more faithfully, with higher motives and a purer 



" John Quincy Adams, the subject of this discourse, was born (as stated before) July 11th, 
1767, in the village of Quincy, formerly a part of the town of Braintrcc. His ancestors were 
among the first settlers of that part of Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of John Adams 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 17 

patriotism ; and history will, by and by, show with better and 
happier ultimate results. Though party spirit has for a time 
counteracted some of his wise measures, and retarded the progress 
of improvement, it will not always retain its power; though it 
may, for the present, throw some obscurity over his political ca 
reer, history will dissipate the darkness which surrounds it, and 
show it in all its brightness ; will, especially, show, that the ad- 
ministration of the government, during his presidential term, was 
a model administration ; among the most prudent and economical ; 
free from the abuse of patronage, and the use of questionable 
power; consistent with the true spirit of the Constitution, and 
promotive of the cause of liberty and equal justice ; — that, next to 
Washington, he has left the strongest impress of true republican- 



— subsequently the second President of the United States, and Abigail (Smith) Adams, the 
daughter of a Congregational minister of Weymouth. 

In the year 1778 — being then a lad of eleven years — he went to France with his father; 
and with him and at school pursued his studies, till their return to America, in 1779. His 
father, being soon called to Europe a second time, in the service of his country, took with him 
again his son, still pursuing his studies as before ; till, at the age of fourteen, in 1781, he pro- 
ceeded to Russia, as private Secretary to Francis Dana, Minister to the Court of St. Peters- 
burg. Thence he returned to his father, in Holland, in 1783; and with him, as Minister to the 
Court of St. James, he went to England, where he acted as Private Secretary to his father, (at 
the same time steadily pursuing his classical studies) till his return to America, where he fin- 
ished his classical education ; and was graduated at Harvard College in 1787. 

His professional studies were pursued at Newburyport, in the office of Theophilus Parsons, 
subsequently Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. 

Mr. Adams commenced the practice of the law, at Boston, in 1790.. But he was soon call- 
ed, by President Washington, in 1794, at the early age of twenty-seven, to assume the charac- 
ter of a public Minister at a foreign Court; and thus he commenced that career of public ser- 
vice which he pursued with little interruption to the end of life. 

He continued in Europe, Resident Minister, at different Courts, till he was recalled by his 
lather, at the close of his presidential term ; and returned to America in 1801. 

Almost immediately on his return, he was elected a member of the Senate of Massachusetts, 
and, in 1803, he was appointed a Senator of the United States. This office he held till his re- 
signation in 1808. During a part of his Senatorial term, he had held the office of Professor of 
Rhetoric and Oratory in Harvard College. To the duties of this office he devoted his undivi- 
ded energies till 1809, when he was again called into public service, and appointed Minister 
Plenipotentiary at the Court of Russia. Subsequently he was called to act as one of the Com- 
missioners in negotiating the peace of Ghent, in 1815. Hence, by appointment, he proceeded 
to England ; and became the Resident Minister of the United States, at the Court of St. James. 

In 1817, he was called home to act as Secretary of State. This office he held for eight 
years, during both the terms of Mr. Munroe's Presidency. In 1823, he became President of 
the United States. On the expiration of his presidential term, he retired to private life ; till 
in 1831 he consented to enter Congress again, as a member of the House of Representatives. 
And in this capacity, he continued to serve his country, with undiminished zeal and fidelity,, 
till Feb. 7th, 1848 ; when, as stated before, he died, at the age of 80 years and 7 months. 

3 



18 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

ism on our institutions and the age. History, I say, will do him 
justice. Already, indeed, public opinion is returning to his reject- 
ed counsels, and preparing the way for the voice of history to be 
favorably heard. 

But I forbear, and hasten to say a word on his crowning excel- 
lency ; that which gave direction to his great talents, security to 
his high morals, utility to his arduous labors, and greatness to his 
whole character — I mean his religious principles. 

Mr. Adams was a Christian ; and a Christian, as has been beau- 
tifully said, " is the highest style of man." What were his par- 
ticular views on many controverted points in theology, I am not 
informed. He did not intrude them on the public. Indeed, I sup- 
pose, though he was a close student of the Bible, he was not a 
technical theologian. Some of his practical sentiments come out 
incidentally in his published writings, but not in technical lan- 
guage. For example, in his second letter to his son, on the read- 
ing of the Bible, he says : " There are three points of doctrine, the 
belief of which form the foundation of all morality. The first is 
the existence of God ; the second is the immortality of the soul ; 
and the third is a future state of rewards and punishments. Sup- 
pose it possible," he continues, " for a man to disbelieve either of 
these articles of faith, and that man will have no conscience; he 
will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark. The 
laws of man may bind him in chains or put him to death, but they 
can never make him wise, virtuous, or happy." 

In the autumn of 1840, Mr. Adams delivered two lectures in New 
York, on the subject of Faith, which, at the time, made a strong 
impression on the public mind, and are said to have done much in 
arresting the progress of Infidelity. I find a synopsis of one of 
them in the New York Observer of November 28th, of that year, 
in the following words : 

" 1. In the existence of one Omnipresent God, the Creator of all 
things. 

2. In the immortality of the soul, and man's accountability to 
God for his conduct. 

3. In the divine mission of the Lord Jesus Christ." 

But I will not detain you with farther quotations. He was a 
practical Christian; not a theorist; certainly not a sectarian. He 
called himself a Bible Christian. This blessed book he read much : 



M^ -38: 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 19 

and, in a course of letters to his son, written while he was in Rus- 
sia, he recommends it as a Divine Revelation, to be read and stu- 
died daily, and to be made the rule of faith and practice. To en- 
force on his son this earnest recommendation, he says: "I have 
myself, for many years, made it a practice to read through the Bi- 
ble once every year." After speaking of the necessity of prayer 
" to Almighty God for the aid of his Holy Spirit," he adds : " My 
custom is to read four or five chapters every morning, immediately 
after rising from my bed." In this daily exercise, as he stated to 
a friend, he used the text of the original or versions in four other 
languages ; always, however, making use of our common English 
translation as one of the copies. 

He was, indeed, a Bible Christian; and his letters to his son 
show, with what confidence and strong faith he searched the 
Scriptures, and submitted to their authority. 

He was, too, as I said, a practical Christian. He early joined 
the church in his native village — a Congregational Church — form- 
ed in the days of our pilgrim fathers.* Here he continued to wor- 
ship and attend on the ordinances of the gospel, whenever he visi- 
ted that village. At Washington, he always attended the stated 
service held in the Capitol in the morning, during the sessions of 
Congress. In the afternoon, as there were no services in the Capi- 
tol, he attended at some church in the city. He was, indeed, an 
example of punctuality and constancy, in attendance on the pub- 
lic worship and ordinances of God. I am told, that he never fail- 
ed, when in health, of attending two services, somewhere, every 
Sabbath. I had myself occasion to observe his constancy and 
punctuality, in attending on the religious services of Congress, du- 
ring the winter of 1839 and 1840. And had all the members of Con- 
gress been as constant, and punctual, and devout, as he was, I am 
confident, that a religious influence would have been diffused over 
the troubled elements of that stormy session. 

Yes, he was a Bible Christian, I repeat ; and a practical Chris- 
tian. And this fact gave the crowning excellence to his character, 
and rendered him truly " a great man." 

"Know ye not," my hearers, that "a great man is fallen?'' 



A. D., 1639. 



20 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

The repetition of this inquiry brings us to the consideration of the 
closing scene of his life. Let us contemplate it for a few moments, 
as it must have appeared to those who stood around him when he 
fell. Truly it must have been a scene, not of excitement and so- 
lemnity merely, but of awful sublimity and moral grandeur. A 
great man fallen, at the close of a protracted period of public ser- 
vice, full of years, crowned with honors, still at his post of duty, 
with armor on, watching for his country's good ; surrounded by 
his compeers ; having just given his last vote, and uttered his last 
emphatic No in the cause of liberty ; — fallen and sinking submis- 
sively into the arms of death, and even announcing his departure 
from earth, in language of composure and peace of mind, is indeed 
a scene of great moral sublimity and beauty ; may I not add,, in 
in view of his Christian character and Christian hopes, and the 
glory and immortality which awaited him, a scene of solemn joy? 
I have often stood by the bed of dying Christians — Christians, 
dying in peace and hope ; and sometimes in the triumph of faith, 
and even, like Stephen, in the ecstacies of anticipated life and im- 
mortality in the presence of their God and Redeemer. And I have 
always viewed such scenes, not with sorrow, but with chastened 
joy. Indeed, it is a blessed privilege to see a Christian die. " For 
precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints :" 

The chamber, where the good man meets his fate, 

Is privileged beyond the common walks 

Of virtuous life — quite on the verge of heaven. 

But when a great man dies, and dies in the midst of circum- 
stances and coincidences which fill the mind with high thoughts 
and rich associations ; which read lessons of wisdom, while they 
bring consolation to the living, the beauty of death swells into the 
sublime of immortality ; the very soul of the pious spectator is lift- 
ed up, and he is ready to exclaim with Elisha, as he gazed on the 
ascending chariot of Elijah: " My father, my father; the chariot 
of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" 

Who that has faith — who that has hope, would not wish to 
die such a death? " Let me die the death of the righteous, and 
let my last end be like his !" 






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